Cookies make me happy.
These homemade peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies taste like the love child of a gingerbread man and a jar of Skippy.
Please don’t try to picture that in your mind. 😕
Try one and you’ll be smiling all day. People will start to wonder about you. Why are you smiling like that? And of course you can answer:
I just like to smile.
Smiling’s my favorite.
Or you could tell them the truth: you’re smiling because you just made a batch of super-delicious chocolate peanut butter gingerbread cookies and are keeping them all for yourself. But be warned that if you go this route, they’ll expect you to share. So honesty might not be the best policy.
Initially these were to be gingerbread cookies with a hint of peanut butter. However, they turned out awesomely peanut buttery and have just an allusion of gingerbread flavor.
Peanut Butter Gingerbread Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter – or Sunbutter, almond butter, or cashew butter (110g)
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger – less if you only want a slight gingerbread flavor
- 1/3 cup Sucanat – You can sub regular brown sugar; it just won’t be nearly as gingerbread-y (45g)
- pinch stevia or 1 extra tbsp of the sucanat or sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp flour (spelt, white, ww pastry, and Bob’s gf all-purpose all work) (24g)
- tiny pinch of salt if desired (I add 1/16 tsp and use Whole Foods peanut butter, which is salted)
- 2-4 tbsp chocolate chunks, or chips, or broken-up chocolate bar
- 2 tbsp applesauce (30g)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (4g)
In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir very well. Put the peanut butter in a separate bowl (and if it is from the fridge, heat it until you can more-easily stir it), then add the applesauce and vanilla to the pb bowl and stir well. Combine the two bowls, and stir to form a dough, then squish into balls with your hands. Chill the balls at least thirty minutes in the fridge or ten in the freezer, during which time you are preheating the oven to 350F. Then cook 8 minutes. They will look quite underdone when they come out, but that’s ok: let them cool and do not touch for at least another 10 minutes. For soft cookies, store in a plastic container. For crispier cookies, store in a glass container. Makes 12-16 cookies.
View Peanut Butter Cookies Nutrition Facts
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Can you make these with oil instead of applesauce?
I made these once before months ago, and I decided to make them again over the weekend. So good and satisfying! I used brown sugar, since I didn’t have any of the alternatives, and it was great. I will definitely make these again!
Why kind of PB do you use?
Whole Foods brand, but I know others say Jif or other similar brands also work.
Do you use natural peanut butter or regular? I eat all natural but have been told it doesn’t bake well. Thanks for your help.
I use all-natural.
Wow! Well, that’s definitely happening this week! Can it be made without applesauce?
Hey Katie,
I made them today and they’re absolutely awesome. The only thing is, that they are too chewy at all. By taking them out of the glass, they are crumbling… should I let them 2 minutes longer in the oven next time? Or shouldn’t I put them in the freezer before baking?
I used spelt flour and dark brown sugar. I live in Germany therefore I haven’t got sucanat.
Nadine
Just be sure to let them cool fully before lifting them from the tray. Also maybe your peanut butter is dry? I’ve never had a problem with mine crumbling.
Hi Katie!
Today I made these cookies and they taste like heaven!!!!
Usually my husband does not like healthy food, but he loved these cookies!!!!
Thank you so much for writing this blog Katie, it is sent from heaven for me. I have a family history of diabetes and I am really scared about it. I can become diabetic any time, so before I become one, I voluntarily switched to a “diabetic diet” just in case. I quit eating desserts and many other things I liked for the sake of my health. But having your healthy recipes available is a gift from God.
Again, thank you so much and God bless you Katie.
Karla
I made these today, and they are soooo tasty! The best part was having a good reason to buy a dark chocolate bar…. but, really, is a reason ever needed to buy dark chocolate? 🙂
I was watching Christmas with the Kranks while making these, and I always get a good laugh from that movie. My other favorite Christmas movies are too numerous to list!
Just made these subbing 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp molasses & 3 Tbsp oat flour, omitted chocolate chips. Turned out great! Will try honey instead of brown sugar next time. Where can I find chocolate chips or bars with no milk or soy? I’m lucky enough to have no food sensitivities but often cook for those who do. I do love me some chocolate. 😉
Just made these yesterday and they are almost gone! I used molasses and a few more spices such as cardamom and cloves. I was wondering about the size though. To make even just 12, I had to make them very small. Is it really only 3 tbsp of flour?
I was wondering the same thing! Most cookie recipes call for at least a cup & a half of flour. I can’t imagine that this would be enough. They sound DELICIOUS, but I’d need to at least double the recipe — won’t go to all that trouble to get such a small batch of cookies.
These are fantastic! I made these delicious cookies for Thanksgiving, and people were fighting over the last few. Amazing!